A Panchromatic View of Relativistic Jets in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Jetted Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies & Co.: Where Do We Stand?

The discovery in 2008 of high-energy gamma-rays from Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies (NLS1s) made it clear that there were active galactic nuclei (AGN) other than blazars and radio galaxies that can eject powerful relativistic jets. In addition to NLS1s, the great performance of the Fermi Large Area Telescope made it possible to discover MeV-GeV photons emitted from more classes of AGN, like Seyferts, Compact Steep Spectrum Gigahertz Peaked Sources (CSS/GPS), and disk-hosted radio galaxies. Although observations indicate a variety of objects, their physical characteristics point to a central engine powered by a relatively small-mass black hole (but, obviously, there are interpretations against this view). This essay critically reviews the literature published on these topics during the last eight years and analyzes the perspectives for the forthcoming years.

High-Energy and Very High-Energy Constraints from Log-Parabolic Spectral Models in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLSy1s) are a well established class of γ -ray sources, showing the presence of a jet like the more common flat-spectrum radio quasars. The evidence of γ -ray emission poses the issue of the location of the γ -ray emitting zone and of the contribution of the γ - γ absorption within the broad-line region (BLR), since such objects have been detected by Fermi-LAT in the MeV-GeV energy range but not by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes beyond 100 GeV. We discuss how the spectral properties of three NLSy1s (SBS 0846+513, PMN J0948+0022, and PKS 1502+036) derived from the Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog (4FGL) compared with theoretical models based on the observed properties of the BLR. In particular, we focus on the question on how simple power-law spectral models and log-parabolic ones could be disentangled in γ -ray narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies by means of current Fermi-LAT or future imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes data. We found that the only possibility for a log-parabolic model to mimic a power-law model in the energy band above E ∼ 100 GeV is to have a very small value of the curvature parameter β ∼ 0.05 .

Relativistic Jets from AGN Viewed at Highest Angular Resolution

Accreting supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) produce powerful relativistic jets that shine from radio to GeV/TeV γ-rays. Over the past decade, AGN jets have extensively been studied in various energy bands and our knowledge about the broadband emission and rapid flares are now significantly updated. Meanwhile, the progress of magnetohydrodynamic simulations with a rotating black hole have greatly improved our theoretical understanding of powerful jet production. Nevertheless, it is still challenging to observationally resolve such flaring sites or jet formation regions since the relevant spatial scales are tiny. Observations with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) are currently the only way to directly access such compact scales. Here we overview some recent progress of VLBI studies of AGN jets. As represented by the successful black hole shadow imaging with the Event Horizon Telescope, the recent rapid expansion of VLBI capability is remarkable. The last decade has also seen a variety of advances thanks to the advent of RadioAstron, GMVA, new VLBI facilities in East Asia as well as to the continued upgrade of VLBA. These instruments have resolved the innermost regions of relativistic jets for a number of objects covering a variety of jetted AGN classes (radio galaxies, blazars, and narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies), and the accumulated results start to establish some concrete (and likely universal) picture on the collimation, acceleration, recollimation shocks, magnetic field topology, and the connection to high-energy flares in the innermost part of AGN jets.

Relativistic Jets in Gamma-Ray-Emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Before the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite only two classes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) were known to generate relativistic jets and thus to emit up to the γ -ray energy range: blazars and radio galaxies, both hosted in giant elliptical galaxies. The discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi satellite of variable γ -ray emission from a few radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLSy1) revealed the presence of an emerging third class of AGN with powerful relativistic jets. Considering that NLSy1 are usually hosted in late-type galaxies with relatively small black hole masses, this finding opened new challenging questions about the nature of these objects, the disc/jet connection, the emission mechanisms at high energies, and the formation of relativistic jets. In this review, I will discuss the broad-band properties of the γ -ray-emitting NLSy1 included in the Fourth Fermi LAT source catalog, highlighting major findings and open questions regarding jet physics, black hole mass estimation, host galaxy and accretion process of these sources in the Fermi era.

Progress in Multi-Wavelength and Multi-Messenger Observations of Blazars and Theoretical Challenges

This review provides an overview of recent advances in multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations of blazars, the current status of theoretical models for blazar emission, and prospects for future facilities. The discussion of observational results will focus on advances made possible through the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and ground-based gamma-ray observatories (H.E.S.S., MAGIC, VERITAS), as well as the recent first evidence for a blazar being a source of IceCube neutrinos. The main focus of this review will be the discussion of our current theoretical understanding of blazar multi-wavelength and multi-messenger emission, in the spectral, time, and polarization domains. Future progress will be expected in particular through the development of the first X-ray polarimeter, IXPE, and the installation of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), both expected to become operational in the early to mid 2020s.